FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Interwoven with the early settlement of the Town of Durham is the endeavor of the
first settlers to provide a place for religious worship.

The early Duteh settlers at Dewittsburgh, now Oak Hill, formed a church organization in
the early days of their settlement, and drew membership all along the Catskill valley from
Freehold to Livingstonville as well as from the hills on either side.

The first English settlement in Durham, or Freehold, as the town was then called, was
by seven young men from Durham, Connecticut, in 1784. They came by boat to Catskill and
then with their guns, axes and knapsacks, made their way on foot to this town, began
clearing away the forests on Meeting House Hill, and gave the name " New Durham
" to their settlement.